Revolving grip tool



W. C. KR ESS I Feb. 23, 1937.

REVOLVING GRIP TOOL Filed Sept. 14", 1935 INVENTOR Il Il Patented Feb.23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE J. H. Williams & 00., tion of NewYork Application September 1 Claim.

The invention relates to revolving grip tools, and although theinvention may be utilized with a variety of tools, it is described andillustrated herein as applied to extension pieces adapted for 5 use withwrenches of the type commonly referred to as socket wrenches. Thesewrenches ordinarily comprise a socket for engaging a nut, and a handlefor engaging the socket and applying torque thereto for the purpose ofrotating the nut to tighten or loosen it.

It very frequently occurs that because of cramped quarters orobstructions adjacent to the nut to be rotated, the handle may not beapplied directly to the socket engaging the nut, or may not beconveniently operated when so applied. Under such conditions it iscustomary to provide an extension piece, in the form of a shank ofsuitable length, one end of which engages the socket and the other endof which extends clear of the obstruction and is engaged by the handle.Thus, by means of the handle, torque is manually applied directly tosuch extension piece, thence to the socket, and finally to the nut,whereby the latter is rotated.

It has been found advantageous to provide such an extension piece with agrip in the form of an outer sleeve mounted upon the shank in suchmanner that the two said parts may rotate relatively to each other abouta common axis. Thus, in practice, the shank may be freely rotated whilethe grip, which remains firmly within the grasp of the mechanic, willserve as a means of holding the assemblage steady, whereby it may beoperated with greater facility.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide such an extensionwherein the outer sleeve or grip may, in a convenient manner, beselectively rendered either rotatable to serve merely as a steady mediumwhen the torque is applied by means of a handle, or non-rotatable topermit the use of the extension piece as an independent means formanually applying torque to the socket.

Another object of my invention is to provide such an extension piecehaving its parts so arranged that the forces present in assembling itwith a handle or other torque-applying means have a direct tendency torender the grip freely rotatable to serve as a steadying grip in suchassemblage, While the forces present in assembling it with a socket havea direct tendency to lock the grip againstrotation whereby the extensionpiece may function as an independent torque-applying means in suchassemblage.

Still further objects of my invention will be- Buffalo, N. Y., acorpora- 14, 1935, Serial No. 40,607

come apparent upon a reading of the following specification.

These objects are achieved by so disposing the rotatable sleeve or gripon the shank of the extension piece that the two may be longitudinallymoved relatively to each other to a limited extent and by providing eachof the two said parts with coacting portions which are in lookingengagement to lock the said parts against relative rotation when thegrip is at one extreme position and are disengaged when the grip is atthe other extreme position to render the two said parts independentlyrotatable.

The invention is more particularly described in the followingspecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a grip for an extension piece ofthe character referred to herein;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shank of an extension piece, partly insection;

Fig. 3 is a side View, partly in elevation and partly in section, of anassembled extension piece, the grip being in rotatable position;

Fig. 4 is a side view, somewhat similar to Fig. 3, of the grip end ofthe device but showing the grip in a position in which it is lockedagainst rotation relatively to the shank;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the grip end of the assembled device;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section on the line 6-45 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a cross-section on the line 1-4 of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment described herein, there is provided a shank 24 of barmaterial of sufficient strength towithstand the torsional stresses towhich it might be subjected and of a suitable length to permit its useto transmit torque to nuts or bolt heads in such close quarters thatthey may not be tightened or loosened with the usual socket and handle.

The upper or grip end of the shank 24 is round in cross-section andextends within a cylindrical grip member 26, the diameter of the bore ofwhich is slightly larger than the diameter of the grip end of the shankto permit relative rotation of the two about the longitudinal axis ofthe shank. The outside of the grip member is knurled to afford asuitable gripping surface.

The shank is provided with a female connecting recess 28 in its grip endand a male connecting portion 30 in its other end. The recess 28 and theportion 30 are square in cross-section and are, respectively, adapted toengage a complementally shaped male portion of a handle and femalerecess in a socket to transmit torque therebetween. A spring-pressedball 32 and a compression spring 34 to urge the ball outwardly areimbedded in a round hole extending laterally into the male connectingportion 38. A similar ball and spring arrangement is provided in themale connecting portion of the handle, the showing thereof being omittedto avoid duplication. The ball 32 is adapted to engage a suitable groovein a socket whereby to prevent unintentional disconnection of the socketfrom the shank. The said groove is similar to the groove 36 provided inthe female connecting recess 28 in the grip end of the shank, and theco-action of the ball and groove is similar in the connections at eachend of the shank. While these complementally shaped connecting portionsand recesses are herein described as being square in cross-section, theymay obviously be triangular, hexagonal, or of any form in which they maynot rotate relatively to each other when connected.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the grip 26 is provided withan internal annular groove 38 near the lower end thereof and an internalannular recess 40 at a point intermediate the ends of said grip. Twosimilar round holes 42 are drilled through the grip, these holes beingdiametrically opposite to each other and disposed immediately above andcommunicating with the recess 40, thus forming notches 43 in theinterior wall of the grip. A look pin 44 of circular cross-section isforced into and frictionally held in a hole 46 extending diametricallythrough the shank, the diameter of said lock pin being less than thediameters of the holes 42 in the grip, and the length of said lock pinbeing greater than the diameter of the grip end of the shank and lessthan the diameter of the annular recess 4|]. A spring-pressed ball 48and a compression spring 50 to urge the said ball outwardly are imbeddedin a round hole 52 extending radially into but not completely throughthe shank.

The grip 26 is assembled upon the shank 24 by first permanentlyimbedding the spring 50 and the ball 48 in the hole 52 and then slidingthe grip over the top of the shank and to the position shown in Fig. 4,wherein the ball 48 is urged outwardly by the spring 50 into the annulargroove 38 and the hole 46 in the shank registers with the holes 42 inthe grip. The lock pin is thereupon inserted through a hole 42and'forced into the hole 46, fitting so tightly in the latter hole thatit is frictionally held therein, with the ends of the said lock pinextending slightly beyond the rounded surface of the shank.

Upon being assembled, the several parts of the device will be disposedas shown in Fig. 4, and the grip and shank will be relativelynon-rotatable as the ends of the lock pin 44 extend partly into theholes 42 of the grip and are restricted from rotative movement by thewalls of the holes 42, as best seen in Fig. '7. The several parts areheld in these relative positions by the seating of the spring-pressedball 48 in the annular groove 38.

The grip may be rendered rotatable by sliding it upwardly to theposition shown in Fig. 3, wherein the ends of the lock-pin 44 aredisposed entirely in the annular recess 40 and are free to be rotatedtherein, as best seen in Fig. 6. The several parts are held in theserelative positions by the engagement of the spring-pressed ball 48 withthe turned-in shoulder 5| at the lower end of the grip and by theengagement of the lock pin 44 with the lower wall of the annular recess40. In moving the grip from one extreme 1ongitudinal position to theother, the ball 48 momentarily recedes entirely into the hole 52 underthe pressure of the shoulder 5| as said shoulder 5| passes over theball. It will be seen that the relative longitudinal movement of thegrip and shank is limited in the one direction by the engagement of thelock pin 44 with the upper walls of the holes 42, and in the otherdirection by the engagement of said lock pin with the lower wall of theannular recess 40.

It should be observed that an extension piece of the type described mayserve a dual purpose. If desired, it might be utilized as an independenttorque-applying device wherein the grip should be non-rotatable, and,when so used, the force applied to the grip 26 in pressing the squaremale portion 30 into a complementally shaped recess in a socket wouldurge the said grip to the desired locked or non-rotatable position shownin Fig. 4. On the other hand, the device might be used as an extensionpiece in conjunction with an auxiliary torque-applying means such as ahandle, in which arrangement the grip should be independently rotatable,and, when so used, the force applied to the grip 26 in pressing therecess 28 into engagement with a complementally shaped male portion onthe handle, would urge the said grip to the desired rotatable positionshown in Fig. 3. Thus, in service, the forces exerted upon the grip 26in connecting the de vice to other devices to perform a particularfunction, have a natural tendency to cause the grip to assume the properposition, with respect to rotatability, for performing such function.

While it is highly desirable, it is not necessary to the invention thatthe forces present in connecting the device with other devices for aparticular use should tend to properly adjust the device with respect torotatability, as hereinbefore set forth.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that a variety ofmeans may be provided for locking the relatively rotatable parts of avariety of tools against rotation without departing from the inventionas defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A rotatable grip tool comprising a shank, a sleeve disposed about aportion of the shank, and means for rendering the two relativelyrotatable or non-rotatable at will, said means comprising an innerannular recess in the sleeve, a hole extending through a wall of thesleeve and communicating with said recess, a diametrical bore in theshank, and a pin adapted to be fixed into said bore, with a portionprotruding therefrom, the bore and the hole being so positioned and ofsuch dimensions that the pin may be inserted into the said bore throughthe said hole, the protruding portion of the pin having such dimensionsthat it is substantially clear of the sleeve and may rotate freelywithin said recess when the shank and sleeve are in one relativelongitudinal position and that it is in locking engagement with thewalls of the said hole when the shank and. sleeve are in anotherrelative longitudinal position.

WILLARD C. KRESS.

